The Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Area Command, has intensified its anti-smuggling operations along the nation’s border corridors, intercepting prohibited goods worth more than ₦501 million, including unsafe pharmaceutical products, Cannabis Sativa and other contraband items within the last three months.
The Customs Area Controller of the command, Abdullahi Kaila, disclosed the development during a media briefing held on Monday at the Seme Command headquarters.
Kaila said the seizures were recorded through sustained intelligence-driven enforcement operations targeted at curbing economic sabotage, trans-border crimes and the circulation of dangerous products capable of threatening public health and national security.
According to the Customs boss, operatives intercepted 1,000 parcels of Cannabis Sativa alongside several unregistered pharmaceutical products, including codeine-based cough syrups and sexual enhancement drugs allegedly smuggled into the country without approval from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.
“The Command has sustained aggressive intelligence-led enforcement operations aimed at combating economic sabotage, protecting local industries, and safeguarding public health as well as national security,” Kaila stated.
He further revealed that the command also seized 2,000 bags of foreign parboiled rice, 340 kegs of vegetable oil, 103 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit, 993 cartons of spaghetti and 250 bales of used clothing during the operations.
“These seizures underscore our zero-tolerance stance against smuggling and reaffirm our determination to protect the nation’s economy while enforcing compliance with extant import and export regulations,” he said.
Kaila warned smugglers and their collaborators to avoid the Seme border corridor, stressing that surveillance had been strengthened across both land and maritime routes to frustrate criminal activities and illegal importation.
“Compliance remains the safest and most cost-effective pathway for legitimate business operations,” he added.
The seized illicit drugs and pharmaceutical products were subsequently handed over to officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and NAFDAC for further investigation and regulatory action.
Representatives of both agencies commended the Nigeria Customs Service for sustaining inter-agency collaboration in the fight against drug trafficking and the circulation of unsafe pharmaceutical products.
They noted that the seizures would significantly contribute to protecting public health and strengthening national security amid growing concerns over the influx of illicit drugs and contraband goods through Nigeria’s borders.
